Church on mission to save Russian orphans

SAN CLEMENTE – When Mariela Spencer talks about a Russian orphan she’s sponsored for a decade her eyes fill with tears of joy and of sorrow.

Just last week she found out that the 15-year-old boy with a glass eye would be uprooted again. But she also knew it would be just days before she and her two sons would see him.

“Because of his eye he’s being moved from his orphanage to another one,” Spencer, of San Clemente, said through tears. “He’s being moved to a place for invalids.But he’s not an invalid. I don’t know if he’ll be there for the rest of his life. Just as he makes new friends and new caregivers, it’s time to move again.”

Despite his hardships, Spencer said, Artiom Cherepovetskiy, remains joyful and grateful for what the family has done since he was 4 years old. The Spencers, members of Capo Beach Church in Capistrano Beach, have made the Russian orphan a member of their family.

Artiom is one of hundreds of Russian children the church has sponsored and cared for during 15 years of ministry dedicated to three orphanages located five hours north of Moscow.

In that time 300 families like the Spencers have sponsored children. Sponsorships include monthly contributions that pay for care, medical needs and school supplies. Sponsor families from cities across South Orange County also write the children regularly giving them a feeling of family, community and a support network. Each year a group of volunteers from the church travel to Russia and spend 12 days bonding with and caring for the children. Monday, Spencer, her two boys and 14 others who each pay their own way left for Russia.

MISSION OF CARING

The church’s mission is to provide support to orphans who face difficulties assimilating into adulthood and developing productive lives in Russia. Last year 700,000 “social orphans” were reported in Russia according to Children’s HopeChest, a nonprofit group based in Colorado, which has coordinated Capo Beach Church’s mission trips.

While some have lost parents to death, many have been orphaned because of alcohol abuse, economic, or other social factors, Matthew Monberg, a spokesperson for HopeChest said. In many areas of Russian society, the word “orphan” is often synonymous with “worthless.” Institutionalized life has left them unprepared for life as an adult, he added.

At age 15 or 16, orphans are emancipated from the state-run system. Many end up on the street. Some are given opportunities in technical trades such as wallpapering, cooking and carpentry. Very few get on a path to college. Many succumb to alcohol and drugs. Many of the teen girls work as prostitutes, said Craig Whittaker, senior pastor at Capo Beach Church.

The Dana Point church is the only group cq from Orange County, and one of 23 nationwide, to sponsor Russian orphanage missions with HopeChest. HopeChest has an agreement with Russia’s Department of Education to do humanitarian work in Russia and currently sponsors 25 orphanages. The group also has set up Ministry Centers for orphans. These centers work as transitional programs helping prepare for life outside the institutions. The centers have computer labs, offer counseling and help with resumes. Counselors provide one-on-one relationships and help teens develop living skills.

Children’s HopeChest and Capo Beach Church continue their sponsorship programs despite the recent announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December banning adoptions of Russian orphans. Since the law took effect, there has been no disruption of their work in Russia, said Monberg,

Whittaker said since the centers have opened, about 70 percent of the orphans stay connected with the centers and the people that staff them. Through the centers’ support, Whittaker and HopeChest staff say that the number of graduated orphans involved in drug, alcohol and crime has decreased.

Whittaker first became aware of the orphan problem when he was invited to Russia 15 years ago. He toured six orphanages, three of which were unsponsored, with volunteers from Children’s HopeChest. Whittaker described the life for children ages 4 -16 in the institutions as dark and dismal.

“There was no life in their faces,” he said. “They weren’t like children should be. We spent two hours there. When we left we made a commitment to be involved.”

Whittaker shared what he had witnessed with the church congregation. In the first weekend, Whittaker had 400 people who wanted to sponsor children.

A CHANGED PLACE

Since then Whittaker said he’s seen a tremendous change in the children. In the early years when he and other volunteers arrived at the orphanages, the children were a little standoffish, not knowing what to expect.

In the third annual trip as Whittaker and others left the orphans chased after the bus, ran in front of it and formed a human chain to stop the group from leaving. Now when Whittaker and church volunteers arrive the children excitedly run to the bus to meet them.

This year as every year when the church volunteers visit they throw one giant birthday bash for all the orphans because the children’s birthdays are not celebrated. They do the girls’ hair and makeup and paint their nails. They do arts and crafts, play sports and take them on outings such as ice skating and to the circus.

For Spencer and her sons, Luke, 12, and Daniel, 8, the opportunity to spend time with Artiom changed their own lives almost as much as it has Artiom’s.

“I strongly believe our visit has lasting reverberations,” Spencer said. “When we leave they cry but when we return they’re so happy to see us. It’s like a moment of hope for them outside their normal world. They cling to you for touch, love and hugs.”

Translators help with the language barrier. When the Spencers arrive, Artiom runs to them grabbing their hands and showing them what’s new at his institution. He introduces them to his friends as though they are his family and shows them improvements that the church has helped with.

“Before they remodeled the bathrooms, they basically had a hole in the wood floor,” Luke Spencer said. “I was surprised by the conditions and surprised how joyful the children were. They didn’t take anything for granted. When we brought in the sponsor bags, they’d always read the card first even before they looked at the toys.”

This year Spencer took Luke for his fourth trip and Daniel for his second.

“I want my children to see the difference between Orange County,” she said. “I want them to be thankful for what they have and that joy isn’t material. Through this process, they get to see that.”